Palestinians to renew UN bid for Israeli withdrawal deadline
Saeb Erekat says the PLO will resubmit resolution calling for Israel to leave ‘occupied Palestine’ and demanding inquiry into current violence
Raoul Wootliff is a former Times of Israel political correspondent and Daily Briefing podcast producer.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat announced Sunday that the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Arab League are preparing a new UN Security Council resolution calling for Israeli withdrawal from “occupied Palestine.”
Speaking at a press conference in Cairo after meeting with Arab League representatives, Erekat said the motion would also include a request to establish an international commission of inquiry into recent violence.
Erekat said the proposal would ask the Security Council for international protection in light of “repetitive Israeli aggressive practices.”
A senior Palestinian official told the Haaretz newspaper that the security situation would help the bid for an Israeli withdrawal.
“The leadership is aware that the main issue is the occupation and its repercussions, and will try to use the recent events to present clear demands to the UN and international community,” he said.
The resolution will renew a 2014 Palestinian bid calling for Israel withdrawals.
In December 2014 the Security Council rejected a Palestinian resolution setting a 12-month deadline for negotiations on a final peace deal and an imposed full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem by the end of 2017.
The resolution failed to get the minimum nine “yes” votes required for adoption by the 15-member council. In addition to the United States and Australia voting against the proposal, a further five countries abstained, meaning the US did not have to use a threatened veto to overturn a majority vote.
Erekat arrived in Cairo Sunday to update Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby on talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jordan on Saturday.
Kerry met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II as part of efforts to halt the weeks-long spate of violence between Israel and Palestinians.
Abbas told Kerry on that Israel must commit to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount and prevent Jewish extremists from ascending to the contested site, according to the Palestinian leader’s spokesman.
Kerry, Abbas and the king were exploring ideas raised during a Thursday meeting in Berlin between the American diplomat and Netanyahu on how to defuse the situation. Following his meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry said he was cautiously optimistic about calming the situation. He has also said he would like to see clarity in the rules governing access to the Temple Mount.
The Palestinians claim that Israel is seeking to change the status quo on the Mount, referring to the decades-long arrangement at the Jerusalem hilltop, the holiest place in Judaism, which allows Jews to visit but not pray. The compound houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, and is the location of the two biblical Jewish Temples. Israel has vehemently denied that it is planning to make any changes to the status quo, and Netanyahu has accused Abbas of incitement for making such claims.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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